It was May 4th, aka the night they met (also Star Wars Day). Danny’s best friend Juan was celebrating his birthday, and his sister, Maria, had been one of Nicole’s good friends for years. At the time, Nicole had recently moved back to Miami after several years in New York and was deep in her “Hot Girl Happy Hour” (HGHH) era. Life was about celebrating girlhood, trying new spots, and never missing a good happy hour. That weekend, the girls miraculously had no plans. So when Maria suggested they go to her brother's birthday, they figured why not? At the pregame, Nicole first spotted Danny waiting in line for the bathroom. He was holding a girl’s purse. Naturally, she assumed he was someone’s boyfriend. He was also wearing an old J.Crew T-shirt, oversized jeans, and blue Converse with a hole so large his foot was practically coming out. "What a shame," she thought. "He’s cute (though in need of some styling advice), but clearly with someone." Eventually, everyone made their way to Los Altos. After a few drinks and dances, Nicole and the girls started taking pictures when another of Danny’s best friends, Nick, appointed himself photographer. That’s when Nicole spotted the cute guy with the questionable shoes again, aka Danny. He was alone by the bar until Nick flagged him down. Danny awkwardly swayed his way over, and somehow he and Nicole started talking. And then they just… kept talking. Slowly, they drifted away from everyone else. The quiet guy suddenly wouldn’t shut up. There was banter. There was flirting. The vibes were HIGH. Just one problem: the purse. No longer in sight, but still on Nicole’s mind. Does he have a GF or not? During one of Danny’s long-winded hot takes (probably about why 3 Chefs is superior to Chicken Kitchen, which they still don’t agree on), Nicole couldn’t take it anymore. “So, are you single?” she blurted out mid-rant. Danny practically lunged toward her. “Well, yeah! Why else would I be over here flirting with you?” Nicole explained the purse situation. Danny had no recollection of holding it. To this day, neither knows whose purse it was. They soon realized they had always been in each other’s orbit. Their friends were filled with mutuals from the Miami pipeline: Carrollton, Lourdes, Columbus, and Belen. Danny’s dad and Nicole’s mom had worked together at Bacardi for years. Danny worked at Nicole’s alma mater, the University of Miami, a place near and dear to her heart. They had even lived within minutes of each other most of their lives. And yet, they never met…until now. But as they say in rom-coms (Nicole’s bible to love), fate works in mysterious ways and true love comes when you least expect it. The night ended, as many great Miami love stories do, at Flanigan’s over late-night ribs and sandwiches, followed by Papa Joe picking the girls up at 4 AM. Don’t worry, they pretended he was an Uber driver and hopped in the backseat as they waved goodbye to the boys (very slick). As they drove away, Allie (Nicole’s Maid of Honor), exclaimed, “Joe, we met Nicole’s future husband tonight!” Papa Joe subtly responded, “We’ll see about that, Al…” From there, Danny wasted no time... He planned five dates in their first week, one being a Panthers playoff game. By week two, he asked Nicole to be his girlfriend. She said she really liked him, but they should give it a month. By week three, he was making plans months ahead. By week four, he asked her to be his girlfriend again. This time, she said yes. Nearly two and a half years later, life together has been filled with family and friends, travel, sporting events Nicole never expected to care this much about, plenty of dancing, and a lot of laughter. Somewhere along the way, that whirlwind became something even better: a life they couldn’t imagine without each other. On February 27, 2027, they can’t wait to make it official, surrounded by everyone who has been part of their story along the way. Cheers to an everlasting love!